This document discusses teaching research skills to students from kindergarten through 8th grade based on Common Core writing standards. It outlines how the standards introduce research concepts starting in kindergarten with guided participation and progressing to more independent research projects by 4th grade. The document provides guidance for teachers on assessing student interests, developing research questions, planning investigations, locating resources, avoiding plagiarism, and presenting findings. The goal is to make the student research process easier by building skills incrementally over several grade levels.

1. Student Research Process
Made Easier Tammi Pittaro
IDEA Teacher/Coordinator Grades K-8
Upper Township School District

2. Common Core Curriculum
State Standards
 Found in English Language Arts
 Writing Standards
 Grades K-12
 Formalized Research Standard
doesn’t begin until fourth grade,
but groundwork begins in
Kindergarten

3. Writing and Teaching
Research Skills
 Kindergarten: Research to Build and
Present Knowledge
 W.K.7. Participate in shared research
and writing projects (e.g., explore a
number of books by a favorite author
and express opinions about them).
 W.K.8. With guidance and support from
adults, recall information from
experiences or gather information from
provided sources to answer a question.

4. Writing and Teaching
Research Skills
 First Grade: Research to Build and Present
Knowledge
 * W.1.7. Participate in shared research
and writing projects (e.g., explore a number
of “how-to” books on a given topic and use
them to write a sequence of instructions).
 * W.1.8. With guidance and support from
adults, recall information from experiences
or gather information from provided sources
to answer a question.

5. Writing and Teaching
Research Skills
 Second Grade: Research to Build and
Present Knowledge
 W.2.7. Participate in shared research and
writing projects (e.g., read a number of
books on a single topic to produce a
report; record science observations).
 W.2.8. Recall information from
experiences or gather information from
provided sources to answer a question.

6. Writing and Teaching
Research Skills
 Third Grade: Research to Build and Present
Knowledge
 W.2.7. Participate in shared research and
writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on
a single topic to produce a report; record science
observations).
 W.2.8. Recall information from experiences or
gather information from provided sources to
answer a question.
 W.2.9. (Begins in grade 4)

7. Writing and Teaching
Research Skills
 Fourth Grade: Research to Build and Present
Knowledge
 W.4.7. Conduct short research projects that build
knowledge through investigation of different aspects of
a topic.
 W.4.8. Recall relevant information from experiences or
gather relevant information from print and digital
sources; take notes and categorize information, and
provide a list of sources.
This standard begins here through 8th grade:
 W.4.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational
texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

8. Writing and Teaching
Research Skills
 Range of Writing (from 4th to 8th
grade)
 W.4.10. Write routinely over
extended time frames (time for
research, reflection, and revision)
and shorter time frames (a single
sitting or a day or two) for a range
of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.

9. Writing and Teaching
Research Skills
 Fifth Grade: Research to Build and Present
Knowledge
 W.5.7. Conduct short research projects that use
several sources to build knowledge through
investigation of different aspects of a topic.
 W.5.8. Recall relevant information from experiences
or gather relevant information from print and digital
sources; summarize or paraphrase information in
notes and finished work, and provide a list of
sources.

10. Writing and Teaching
Research Skills
 Sixth Grade: Research to Build and Present
Knowledge
 W.6.7. Conduct short research projects to
answer a question, drawing on several sources
and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.
 W.6.8. Gather relevant information from
multiple print and digital sources; assess the
credibility of each source; and quote or
paraphrase the data and conclusions of others
while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic
bibliographic information for sources.

11. Writing and Teaching
Research Skills
 Seventh Grade: Research to Build and Present
Knowledge
 W.7.7. Conduct short research projects to answer a
question, drawing on several sources and generating
additional related, focused questions for further research
and investigation.
 W.7.8. Gather relevant information from multiple print
and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess
the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote
or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while
avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for
citation.

12. Writing and Teaching
Research Skills
 Eight Grade: Research to Build and Present
Knowledge
 W.8.7. Conduct short research projects to answer a
question (including a self-generated question), drawing
on several sources and generating additional related,
focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of
exploration.
 W.8.8. Gather relevant information from multiple print
and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess
the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote
or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while
avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for
citation.

13. Research Skills
 Identify prior knowledge
 Asking good questions
 Developing writing skills
 Paraphrasing; summarizing
 Evaluating validity of resources
 Documenting resources

14. Research skills
 Finding resources
 Synthesizing
 Analyzing
 Making decisions
 Managing time wisely; planning
 Using effective presentation skills

15. Steps for Guiding Student
Research
 Assess, Find or Create Student Interest
 Help Students Find a Question(s) to Answer
 Develop a Research Question(s) to Answer
 Develop a Plan of Action to Guide the
Research
 Help Locate Multiple Resources

16. Steps for Guiding Student
Research
 Provide Managerial Assistance
 Help to Find Products and Audiences
 Provide Feedback/Escalate the
Process
 Evaluate

17. Assess, Find and Create
Interest
Investigations Stem from Many Sources:
 Individual interests
 Curricular areas of study
 Problems that exist in the world
 Unresolved questions
 Someone asking students to generate
solutions to problems

18. Assess, Find and Create
Interest
Strategies for Interest and Problem-Focusing- What invites students
to learn? The Hook!:
 Sharing articles from news magazines, newspapers, etc.
 Guest speakers
 Questions that students ask
 Student identified problems
 “I Wonder” bulletin boards
 Interest centers in classroom

19. Help Students Find a
Question(s) to Research
Who Does Research?
What kinds of questions would these people ask?
 Doctors
 Newspaper Reporters
 Geographer
 Writer
 Historian
 “Ologists”

20. What is an “Ologist?”
 Ologists are people who follows their
curiosity about something and keep at it
until they get answers. And then they
have a hundred new questions!
 Anthropologist Psychologist
 Biologist Archeologist
 Zoologist Paleontologist
 Sociologist Meteorologist

21. Help Students Find a
Question(s) to Research
 Researchers are always asking questions about the
world around them. They notice things that are
interesting, they make observations and wonder
why certain things behave as they do. Researchers
are sensitive to problems.
 Categories:
Eating habits Friendship
Rules School
Culture Growing Up
Community Beliefs
Lots more!

22. Generating Research
Good Question Cubes
 Cube 1- Who, What/Which, When,
Why, Where, How
 Cube 2- Is, Can, Will,
Could/Should/Would, Might, Did
 Cube 3 (Middle School recommended,
but can be used with younger students)
- Predict, Analyze, Verify, Compare,
Contrast, List

23. Generating Research
Questions
1. Roll the dice to generate beginning
questions. Select one word from each
cube to generate possible questions.
2.Use research phrases to prompt
possible research questions.

24. Research question
examples
It might be interesting to know if?
It might be interesting to know how?
It might be interesting to know why?
Historically, I wonder how or why?
I wonder if ________is related to
___________?
What factors influenced___________

25. Question Boxes
Is Did Can Will Might Should
Would
Could
Who
What/
Which
When
Where
Why
How

26. Develop a plan of action to
guide the research- kinds
Descriptive Research
 primarily concerned with finding out “What is?
Or How are things now?”
 Determining the likes and dislikes of a group
 Student opinion surveys
 Recording the reactions to an event
 Example- Do fifth graders have a favorable
attitude toward the new playground equipment?

27. Develop a plan of action to
guide the research- kinds
Correlational Research
 Purpose is to make an attempt to discover or
clarify relationships that exist between and
among variables
 Example- Is there a relationship between the
size of the wheels on a toy car and the
distance it can travel?

28. Develop a plan of action to
guide the research- kinds
Historical Research
 Purpose is to search for facts relating to questions
about the past. By studying the past, the historian is
trying to achieve a better understanding of the
present.
 Finding data through sources such as diaries, official
documents and relics. Primary and secondary
sources.
 Example: In what way has this school changed since
it was built?

29. Develop a plan of action to
guide the research- kinds
Experimental Research
 Purpose is to investigate possible cause and effect
relationships
 Control groups and experimental groups; gathering
data; looking for differences
 Key question: How do you know the treatment
caused the effect?
 Example: What is the effect of color on “taste buds?”

30. Develop a plan of action to
guide the research- kinds
Developmental Research
 Purpose it to examine changes and patterns of
growth over time and answer the question: How has
___________changed over time?
 Longitudinal studies follow the same subjects over
an extended period of time
 Example: How have we changed as fourth graders
over the school year?

31. Provide Methodological
Assistance
 Shift
from learning about to learning
how to gather, categorize, analyze
and interpret data.
 Learn the different types of research
conducted by professionals and the
tools and methods they use to
conduct their research.

32. Provide Methodological
Assistance
 How to gather your data from your questions
 Interviews (questioning individuals, asking
open-ended questions)
 Surveys and questionnaires (make one)
 Recording notes
 Recording references
 Designing an experiment

33. Develop a plan of action to
guide the research
Provide Managerial Assistance
 Provide access to people and equipment
 Help students to design a way to gather
data, organize findings and report findings.

34. Develop a plan of action to
guide the research
 What- This is what I plan to research
 Resources- These are the resources I need to conduct my
study
 Steps-Here are the steps I need to take to accomplish my
plan
 Problems-These are the problems that I may encounter
 Audience- This is the audience who could benefit from
my research
 Product- This is the type of product that I could create

35. Help Locate Multiple
Resources
 Books
 Magazines
 Individuals for interviews
 Places to write for information
 Historical documents
 Other researchers
 Use the internet and other electronic resources

36. Just Say “NO!” to
Plagiarism
A plagiarist is~
 Uninformed
 Careless
 Lazy
 Dishonest
Don’t be a Copy Cat!

37. How to avoid plagiarism?
NOTEFACTS!
Note (short) and Fact (true).
 Written in your own words
 Short but complete enough to make sense
 Related to your questions
 Documented (Must be cited to show your
sources.)

38. Why cite your sources?
 Give credit to the author/creator
 Shareyour sources with other
researchers
 Prove the authenticity of your sources
 Allowothers to validate your
information

39. Easy as ABC
 A Author/Editor
 B book/magazine/article title
 C Company
 D Date of copyright/Date viewed
 E Entire page numbers/URL

40. Great Websites for
Researching with Students
 http://www.tizmos.com
 http://www.amnh.org/ology/
Search engines for kids
http://www.kidrex.org/
http://www.askkids.com/
http://www.boolify.org/index.php
http://quinturakids.com/

41. Questions?